“It’s not just a ‘woman’s issue’—it is a human issue,” the pamphlet says.

However, most of the seven tips on how to stop sexual violence are centered on men—including the tip that encourages men to be more secure with themselves. Another tip warns students to “[n]ever think that a woman owes a man sex under any circumstances.” An additional tip encourages students to “[s]top any friend or acquaintance you see violating or exploiting a woman.”

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), approximately one in 33 American men have experienced attempted or completed rape in his lifetime. The nonprofit anti-sexual assault organization also contends that one out of every six American women are victims of attempted or completed rape within her lifetime.

“The pamphlet insinuates that because men have insecurities, they are more at risk to be sexual predators,” Courtney Brown, a junior global business major at Troy, told Campus Reform. “A lot of people have insecurities—it doesn’t mean they’re going to be a rapist.”

Brown, who is a part of the feminist student organization Women’s Initiative, said that she agreed with the other suggestions the pamphlet gave on how to stop sexual violence but felt the point about men’s security could have been worded differently.

“I think instead of saying men need to secure their thoughts and feelings, the pamphlet should say that men—everyone, really—need to secure the understanding that sex is not an entitlement, and that if someone is under the influence or ‘doesn’t say no,’ it doesn’t mean that a sexual act with that person is okay,” Brown said in an interview.

The S.A.V.E. (or Sexual Assault and Violence Education) Project is a grant-funded program at the Alabama institution which is funded by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. According to its website, the group provides counseling and services to victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Samantha Harris, director of policy research at FIRE, called Troy’s harassment policy “pretty clearly unconstitutional” as “it essentially says that if you are discussing any number of controversial issues related to race, religion, etc., you have committed harassment under this policy if another person subjectively finds your speech offensive.”

Harris said that courts have continuously held that speech cannot be prohibited because another person finds it to be offensive.

According to Harris, these policies stem from a “well-intentioned but misguided desire” to protect students from offenses.

“Fear of litigation is also a factor—schools do not want to have to defend themselves in a discrimination lawsuit or in a federal investigation into compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws, which require schools to respond effectively to harassment on campus,” Harris said. “Of course, schools can and do get sued for violating the First Amendment as well, which is something administrators need to be aware of when crafting these policies.”

Earlier this semester, two male Troy students were arrested for sexual battery after a video surfaced of the pair, and several others, surrounding an incapacitated girl on a beach chair during Spring Break at Panama City Beach. According to local news outlets, officials have called the incident, involving students Delonte’ Martistee and Ryan Austin Calhoun, a Spring Break “gang rape.”

According to a copy of the university’s crime statistics, available on its website, there was one reported instance of a forcible sexual offence on campus in 2012 and none in 2011 or 2010. There were no reported cases of forcible sexual offenses off-campus in those three years.

There was one reported case of a forcible sexual offense on public property in 2012.

Troy is not alone in adopting harassment policies—specifically in regards to sexual harassment—that have been deemed vague and potentially harmful. As previously reported by Campus Reform, St. Petersburg College in Florida defines sexual harassment as occurring through “innuendo, attitude or voice inflection.”

Kaitlyn Schallhorn is a Reporter at Fox News. Prior to joining the Fox News Team, Kaitlyn was a Reporter for Campus Reform, covering liberal bias and abuse on campus. She has also written for Red Alert Politics.

“If you watch this video without my consent, then I hope you reflect on your reasons for objectifying me and participating in my rape, for, in that case, you were the one who couldn't resist the urge to make Ceci N'est Pas Un Viol about what you wanted to make it about: rape.”

"And I hope that you know how much you are loved and how much sacrifice went to having you here and that no piece of paper, no piece of paper, not even that diploma, can stop you from being your fullest possible self."

Sometime overnight, dozens of posters sprung up around Columbia University’s New York City campus, deeming Emma Sulkowicz, the student who garnered national media attention when she began to carry her mattress around with her, a “pretty little liar.”

While a visit to Oberlin College from an equity feminist prompted protests, safe spaces, and ridicule, the news that First Lady Michelle Obama will give a commencement speech at the liberal arts school has been met with excitement by most.

Feminists at Oberlin College, upset that a student group would bring Christina Hoff Sommers to campus, hung posters that individually declared Republican and Libertarian students as “perpetuating rape culture.”

CampusReform.org is a project of the Leadership Institute. The Leadership Institute is a non-partisan educational organization approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a public foundation operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. The Leadership Institute does not endorse, support, or oppose candidates or proposed legislation. The Institute has an open admissions policy; all programs are open to the public. Contributions to the Leadership Institute by individuals, corporations, and foundations are tax deductible.
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